Official sets start date for 555m building

[PHNOM PENH POST]

CONSTRUCTION will begin on a 555-metre tall building next year on Diamond Island, the tallest building in Southeast Asia, Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema claimed yesterday.

However, experts have cast doubt on the project’s viability, while officials with the firm set to construct the tower said yesterday there was no concrete plans yet about when to proceed.

Speaking during the inauguration of a third bridge to Diamond Island, Kep Chuktema said the building was planned to be the world’s second tallest.

“Cambodia will be building the world’s second-tallest building at 555 metres in Southeast Asia in early 2012. If we can’t build 555 metres, we will build only 456 metres,” he said.

Diamond Island’s development is overseen by Overseas Cambodia Investment Corporation, but the firm’s project manager Touch Samnang said yesterday the company had no updated plans regarding the tower’s construction.

“We have no new updates for this project – everything’s remained the same as before,” he said.

The firm has designed the project as its first step, and is currently studying the land in more detail as the second step. Construction can commence once that step is complete, he claimed.

The project was first announced in September 2010, though some experts questioned its viability at the time. The current tallest building in the world is the 828 metre Burj Khalifa in Dubai.